I need a lie down, take a stress pill and think things over

I challange you to guess who said this...

"What is the point of extending our commitments if none of the other big economies say that they are willing to follow, if not today, then at least at some time tomorrow?
"If we are to keep the Kyoto Protocol alive, we must have some indications that you [the other big economies] are entering at some point. We are willing to keep that possibility open, but we need other countries - the U.S., emerging economies and others - to say when they are going to commit in a more binding form than we have seen hitherto."

"Some seem to think that if only Europe took a second commitment period, that would make Durban a big success. The world should not fool itself. It’s only interesting to keep Kyoto alive if somebody is following. Europe represents only 11% of global emissions. What will the other 89% do?"

I only ask because it is rather sensible and puts into question our own Government's much vaunted position on taking the lead in driving our own economy into the sand.

Oh the answer is here

"Persistant National Identities"

There you are trying to stuff your finger in the Utopia's dyke and won't you know it but something just gets in the way.

Finance officials and experts gathered in Italy mostly agreed Saturday that Europe needs deeper political union to preserve the troubled euro—even though persistent national identities made the prospect politically unlikely in the near future.

According to AP, Experts are telling us that

Europe needs more perfect union

It is just part of the European post-faith religion. Even the language drips of the litergy. Either that or tyhe arrogance of fluent Eurocrat,

Unless Europeans agree "to complete economic and monetary union ... with a fiscal union, with a strong governance, with a feeling that some political decision should be adopted in common by those who are sharing the single currency, we will not succeed," said Joaquin Almunia, the vice president of the EU commission, the closest thing to a central government in the union.

Who wiull not suceed? The poltical elite, those who dream technicolour integrationalist dreams? Becaiuse it certainly isn't the people of Europe who feel this way as Mario Monti almost admits,

the current structure depends on national governments acting in concert when needed. But instead, said Italian economist Mario Monti, governments are becoming increasingly "short-termist"—preferring to pander to voters even if the result is dysfunction on the European level.

Ye Gods No, you mean a couple of Governments (and Yes Finland, he means you) actually try to reflect the wishes of their people? Sorry pandering to the wishes of their people. Don't those thick necked unwashed bruisers, the hoiu polloi not know that we the elite know what is best for them?

The damned ungrateful curs.

An insight into the Euro-elite's mindset

Katinka Barysch is a senior figure at the Centre for European Reform, the Eurocrats think-tank.

She ticks all the right boxes with a masters from the LSE, European Commission work, a bit of journalism and various advisory EU related roles.

And she doesn't like democracy much. Here she is talking to Reuters about the Finnish collateral demand. (That is Finland's agreement with Greece about getting collateral for their bailouts and loans)

...if Finland gets its wish for collateral to back loans to Greece under a new 109 billion euro (97 billion pounds) rescue package.

Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in London said the Finnish attitude was harmful for Europe.

"That is an attitude that if it materialised in Germany would be very dangerous," Barysch said. "The only good solution I can imagine is to get rid of this. If the Greeks were able to give collateral for all the bonds they issue or for the money we lend them, they wouldn't need us anyway."

The only solution, according to the svelte Ms Barysch is to 'get rid' of the Finnish position. That's a position that has come about because the Finnish government responded to the huge vote for Timo Soini's recently renamed Finns party in this year's general election.
Her solution would be to do what precisely? To get rid of the awkward democratic descision of the Finnish Parliament?

You see Finalnd is a bit of a problem for the lesser spotted Eurocrat,

Finland had said it could drop out of the Greek aid programme if its demands were rejected.
Although Finland's share of the package is tiny, it punches above its weight because of its top-notch credit rating -- which it shares with Austria and the Netherlands -- and the fact that its parliament is empowered to vote on funding issues.

There it is. You see all the other Eurozone countries (and ourselves included) just require the Head of Government to agree at the Council of Ministers. In Finland it is the Parliament that makes the decision. How inconvienient for all good Europeans.

You pays your money

The IMF crowd are down Athens way, and the EU is looking at their books again. Meanwhile they are loking at Ireland.

Here, for example is the Greek situation,

The EU and IMF left a critical audit of Greek finances unfinished on Friday saying more budget work was needed, and the government admitted its deficit target is in trouble.
Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos conceded that Greece would have to revise its public deficit target for this year, a key condition for continued funding from the 110-billion-euro ($158-billion) EU-IMF-ECB bailout loan agreed last year.

The Greek vacuum is still operating. Slightly better news however comes from Ireland,

The EU has agreed to provide Ireland with the next installment of its bailout package.


Ireland will receive €7.5bn over the next two months from the €85bn package granted by the EU and IMF last year.

The EU said the decision to release funds to Ireland followed "positive" quarterly reviews by the troika.

In a statement released this afternoon, the EU praised Ireland for making progress in the recovery programme and addressing weaknesses in the financial sector.

This isn't good news remember, it is merely not worse news. The bailouts are still necessary, and the crisis is far from over, but the shadow over Greece grows deeper and deeper. Meanwhile, what do they have that could act as collateral?

They say Sex sells

But if sex is just selling sex, then isn't that rather tautological?

Escort agency Girls Company is offering a ‘sex date’ as the prize in a promotional contest. Candidates are asked to confess their ‘most exciting, naughtiest, extreme sex spot or experience’ and post it to the company’s website.

The prize consists of a mile-high flight on board a private jet with a male or female escort – straight, gay or bisexual - and the possibility of becoming a member of the Mile High Club: the people who have had sex on board a plane in mid-flight.

The promotional contest “Win a membership into the Mile High Club” is a first in the Netherlands. Girls Company owner Wouter van der Heijden says it’s a one-off deal.
“So we are not going on a Boeing737, but made a deal to do this in a private jet. Whether sex flights have a future depends on demand, because they are obviously quite expensive.”

Somehow I don't see the video being allowed on any mainstream TV station.

When Money Dies... again

Adam Fergussen, scion of the Scottish squirachy, former Tory MEP and momentarily famous after Warren Buffett tipped his 1975 book 'When Money Dies' has issued a pretty damning overview on the idea of a Eurobvond, so loved by the curreent Chancellor and much of the European Elite.

In the current issue of MoneyWeek he is quoted as saying,

He isn’t so sure: he can’t see how any rule can be made so robust that Greece can’t ignore it. That the eurozone leaders will introduce a Eurobond is improbable but possible. That it will work beyond the short term? Impossible.

Given that Mr Fergusen has been an ardent Europhile all his life this is pretty depressing for those still committed to the European Project. This is a man who was arguing that the Tory European policy should follow John Steven's pro-European Cobnservative Party.

A crime against good taste : and maybe against good sense

This has got to be one of themost cringemaking things I have read for a while.

Birth of a beautiful new EU citizen!
Dear colleagues,

I am very proud to tell you that the European Union has a beautiful new citizen! On the 23rd of August, I gave birth to a son. His name is +%&/ and he's a picture of good health and happiness. My family and I are overjoyed to have him.
Kind regards,

Marije Cornelissen

Dintelstraat %&
1078 VT Amsterdam
The Netherlands

MEP, Green Group

It was accompanied with a photo of said child wearing a natty European Green Party 0-6 months sized t-shirt.

This ditsy woman has just sent round a photo of her child to all the MEPs, assistants and political staffers in the European Parliament. A good few thousand in all.

Firstly, frankly madam you cloying ghastlyness is of no interest to the vast majority of the recipients, its treeacle spam, stop it.

Secondly by making your fortnight old infant a political object you have stripped youitrself and you child of any dignity and privacy that they should have.

And thirdly, I wonder what the good electors of the Netrherlands fewel that same way about your childs supposed new nationality?

You are a blithering idiot and should be laufghed at from ditch and hedge.

The young child... well he is to be pitied.